In the new era of amity and short meetings the town council is enjoying, anything is possible.

Consider the Feb. 3 session, at which regular public commenter Robert Tucker of Hyannis wanted to know why BJ’s Wholesale Club on Attucks Lane doesn’t have gas pumps, as some off-Cape BJ’s do.

In times past, such questions didn’t always bring prompt answers. Last week, Councilor Greg Milne responded, advising Tucker that the Hyannis BJ’s is in a Zone 1 water resources protection zone. “Other areas off-Cape are not sitting on a sole-source aquifer,” he said.

Continuing the bonhomie, Milne asked that the town manager correct him if he’d misstated the case. Near the end of the less-than-an-hour meeting, John Klimm concurred, clarifying that the area is not a Zone 1, as Milne had said, but a GP (groundwater protection) zone.

Council Vice President Jan Barton got into the spirit of things, noting that she’s actually saving money commuting to school in New Bedford because gas is cheaper there. She also responded to another of Tucker’s regular concerns, that other towns aren’t pulling their weight in addressing issues of homelessness.

Citing a variety of efforts by elected and appointed Barnstable leaders to get the word out to their peers, Barton said, “There has to be political will from other towns. Maybe you should go to other towns’ public comments and say something, Mr. Tucker.”

In the new era of amity and short meetings the town council is enjoying, anything is possible.

Consider the Feb. 3 session, at which regular public commenter Robert Tucker of Hyannis wanted to know why BJ’s Wholesale Club on Attucks Lane doesn’t have gas pumps, as some off-Cape BJ’s do.

In times past, such questions didn’t always bring prompt answers. Last week, Councilor Greg Milne responded, advising Tucker that the Hyannis BJ’s is in a Zone 1 water resources protection zone. “Other areas off-Cape are not sitting on a sole-source aquifer,” he said.

Continuing the bonhomie, Milne asked that the town manager correct him if he’d misstated the case. Near the end of the less-than-an-hour meeting, John Klimm concurred, clarifying that the area is not a Zone 1, as Milne had said, but a GP (groundwater protection) zone.

Council Vice President Jan Barton got into the spirit of things, noting that she’s actually saving money commuting to school in New Bedford because gas is cheaper there. She also responded to another of Tucker’s regular concerns, that other towns aren’t pulling their weight in addressing issues of homelessness.

Citing a variety of efforts by elected and appointed Barnstable leaders to get the word out to their peers, Barton said, “There has to be political will from other towns. Maybe you should go to other towns’ public comments and say something, Mr. Tucker.”